The World seemed to have converged on Kochi, as the 13th Kerala Travel Mart 2026, showcased the incredible treasures of Kerala to the World. There are few places where the business of travel feels quite as evocative as it does in Kerala. Here, tourism is not merely about destinations on a map. It is about the rhythm of a vallam gliding through a backwater, the fragrance of spices in an old market, the measured movements of Kathakali, the healing traditions of Ayurveda, the power of Kalaripayattu, and the flavours of Sadya, the hospitality of a homestay and the quiet drama of a monsoon evening in the Western Ghats.
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Beyond the Backwaters: Discovering Kerala at Travel Mart 2026 | KTM 2026
For four days, from September 24 to 27, 2026, Kochi became the meeting ground for the many dimensions of Kerala tourism at the 13th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) 2026. Organised by the Kerala Travel Mart Society with the support of Kerala Tourism, the event brought together tourism sellers, domestic and international buyers, hospitality professionals, policymakers and media. The inauguration took place at Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty, while the principal business proceedings were held at the Sagara and Samudrika Convention Centres on Willingdon Island.
The edition was marked by a particularly strong business presence. More than 3,000 buyer registrations were recorded, including 1,200 hosted and 300 non-hosted buyers, while 383 seller stalls represented tourism enterprises and 25 stalls represented government institutions. More than 45,000 business meetings were scheduled, turning KTM into a vast marketplace of conversations, possibilities and prospective partnerships.
Kerala Travel Mart – KTM 2026 | Grand Inauguration in Grand Hyatt Bolgatty Kochi
The evening of September 24 set the tone for the event. Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan formally inaugurated KTM 2026, with Tourism, Culture and Cinema Minister P. C. Vishnunadh presiding over the function. Minister for Co-operation and Excise M. Liju was the guest of honour. The programme also brought together senior tourism officials, industry representatives, members of the KTM Society and other dignitaries.
The Chief Minister’s address placed tourism within a broader vision for Kerala’s economic and infrastructural development. He cited the state’s 2025 tourism figures, noting 821,999 foreign tourist visits, an increase of 11.33 per cent over 2024, while domestic tourist visits reached about 25.06 million, registering 12.64 per cent growth.
Against this backdrop, Satheesan announced an ambitious five-year target: five million foreign tourist visits and 100 million domestic tourist visits. He spoke of the need to expand tourism beyond the familiar destinations and to develop areas such as forest tourism, jungle lodges and trekking while keeping sustainability at the centre of such development.
Another important strand of his address was Kerala’s maritime potential. The Chief Minister said approval had been given for a cruise terminal at Cochin Port and that another was being planned in the Kozhikode region. He also outlined a longer-term vision of expanding cruise tourism to Kerala’s rivers, with a proposed second phase encompassing 44 rivers. The emphasis was on connecting the state’s maritime assets, ports and waterways more closely with tourism and the wider blue economy.
The CM also referred to plans for an international global convention centre near Kochi airport and announced initiatives connected with Kerala’s maritime heritage, including an international maritime museum and oceanarium in Kochi.
Tourism Minister P. C. Vishnunadh’s address complemented this larger vision by focusing on the need to broaden Kerala’s tourism footprint. He spoke of strengthening tourism infrastructure across 100 destinations over the next five years, with new destinations to be identified in consultation with tourism stakeholders.
One of the more experiential ideas announced by the minister was the proposed ‘Be a Malayali for a Day’ initiative, planned for the following Onam season. The concept is intended to allow visitors to experience aspects of traditional Kerala life, including its cuisine and lifestyle, rather than encountering the state only as spectators.
Minister M. Liju, the guest of honour, addressed an issue of particular relevance to the hospitality industry, assuring tourism stakeholders that the government’s excise policy would not adversely affect the tourism sector.
The inaugural evening thus carried two complementary messages: Kerala’s tourism industry had momentum, but its next chapter would depend on new destinations, new experiences, new markets and infrastructure capable of supporting them.
KTM Society President Jose Pradeep, who reflected on the evolution of the mart over its 25-year journey. He described KTM as a platform through which Kerala presents its tourism products to the world and emphasised the potential of buyer-seller interactions to create new partnerships and markets.
Hari Kishore, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, brought another perspective to the discussion. He pointed to the gap between Kerala’s pre-pandemic foreign tourist arrivals and current levels as an opportunity for the tourism trade. He also highlighted the concentration of tourist traffic in a handful of districts and encouraged the industry to promote lesser-known destinations. also spoke of the growing importance of specialisation within tourism, identifying areas such as weddings, medical value travel, MICE, golf and cruise tourism. He suggested that tourism products should increasingly become digitally discoverable and bookable.
The evening also saw the release of the KTM Sellers Directory, while Kerala Tourism Director M. Anjana and Tourism Secretary K. Biju were among the officials associated with the inaugural proceedings.
The inaugural evening of Kerala Travel Mart 2026 at the Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty was not merely a formal opening, but a celebration of the cultural soul of Kerala. Following the inaugural ceremony on September 24, guests were treated to a vibrant cultural programme jointly presented by Kerala Tourism and the Kerala Travel Mart. The performances brought the state’s artistic traditions and distinctive cultural character to the gathering of tourism professionals from India and across the world. Against the elegant setting of Bolgatty, the evening beautifully complemented the business purpose of KTM with the very essence of what Kerala offers its visitors—living traditions, artistic expression, hospitality and a culture deeply woven into everyday life.
Kerala Travel Mart – KTM 2026 – Business Takes Centre Stage
On September 25, the mood shifted from ceremony to commerce. At the Sagara and Samudrika Convention Centres on Willingdon Island, buyers and sellers moved into a tightly scheduled programme of business-to-business meetings. The exhibition floor became a meeting point for hotels, resorts, tour operators, homestays, houseboats, destination management companies and other tourism enterprises from across Kerala.
For sellers, these meetings represented an opportunity to place their products directly before travel companies from India and overseas. For buyers, the mart offered a concentrated introduction to Kerala’s established destinations as well as experiences that lie beyond the conventional itinerary.
The international participation was particularly significant. There were 380 international buyers from 59 countries, with representatives from markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa and Oman.
The response from buyers reflected a changing appetite for Kerala. Ayurveda and wellness remained powerful draws, but international representatives also expressed interest in backwaters, beaches, wildlife, plantations, homestays, local cuisine, culture and experiential travel.
The day also brought an important conversation about Inclusive and Accessible Tourism. The panel examined accessibility not simply as the provision of ramps or specially designed rooms, but as something that needs to be incorporated throughout the travel journey.
Speakers highlighted the importance of trained tourism personnel, accessible transport, accurate digital information, suitable accommodation and destination-level accessibility audits. The discussion also drew attention to the needs of travellers with different physical and intellectual disabilities.
The Responsible Tourism Mission’s work in inclusion and women’s participation also featured in the discussion. According to information presented at the session, of the 26,000 units under Kerala’s Responsible Tourism initiative, 18,500 are run by women’s collectives.
As the formal business day ended, the atmosphere shifted once again from meetings to networking. A networking dinner at Le Meridien Kochi offered buyers and sellers an opportunity to continue conversations beyond the scheduled appointments.
In many ways, this is where the character of a travel mart reveals itself. A scheduled meeting may last only a few minutes, but a conversation over dinner can lead to another meeting, another itinerary, a new partnership or a first introduction to a destination previously absent from a buyer’s programme.
Kerala Travel Mart – KTM 2026 – Looking To The Future
If September 25 was about connecting people and products, September 26 looked more closely at the forces reshaping the tourism business. Business sessions continued throughout the day, but two discussions brought the changing character of travel sharply into focus: ‘Application of AI / Disruption by AI in Tourism Industry’ and ‘Evolving Customer Expectations.’
Technology was not merely a subject of discussion at KTM 2026; it was part of the event’s own infrastructure. A dedicated AI-powered mobile application developed for KTM integrated meeting schedules, navigation, accommodation information and event details. Its scheduling system was designed to reduce unnecessary movement between meeting venues, while a feature called ‘Pathfinder’ provided turn-by-turn navigation. An AI chatbot offered information in natural language, and dynamic QR codes were introduced for attendance verification at B2B meetings.
The digital ecosystem reflected a wider transformation in the travel industry. Travellers increasingly discover destinations online, compare experiences digitally and expect information to be available quickly and conveniently. For destinations such as Kerala, the challenge is therefore not simply to create compelling experiences but also to make those experiences easy to discover, understand and book.
The buyer conversations on September 26 reinforced another important shift: the traveller is increasingly looking beyond a single iconic attraction. Wellness, Ayurveda, adventure, community tourism, cuisine, culture, nature and slower forms of travel are becoming interconnected components of the holiday experience.
For some international buyers, Kerala’s wellness proposition was especially compelling. Russian buyers, for example, spoke of growing interest in Ayurveda, while buyers from the United States discussed wellness, adventure and community-based experiences. Other participants were interested in MICE tourism and distinctive boutique and resort experiences.
This diversity of interest reflects the breadth of Kerala itself. The state can sell the backwaters and the beaches, but it can equally tell stories about plantations, forests, traditional arts, village life, cuisine, Ayurveda, maritime heritage and responsible tourism.
Kerala Travel Mart – KTM 2026 – A Harbinger of Change
KTM 2026 was more than an exhibition of destinations. It was a snapshot of a tourism industry in transition. On one side were the timeless elements of Kerala—the waterways, forests, cuisine, performing arts, Ayurveda, architecture and deeply rooted traditions. On the other were the demands of contemporary tourism: digital discovery, artificial intelligence, accessibility, specialised products, new markets and changing customer expectations.
The result was a fascinating meeting of old and new. A traditional Kerala ancestral home recreated through the Responsible Tourism Mission could stand alongside an AI-powered meeting platform. A conversation about Ayurveda could sit alongside a discussion on digital booking. A buyer looking for boutique experiences could meet a hotelier from a lesser-known destination. An international tour operator could discover a community-based tourism experience that had never previously formed part of an itinerary.
And perhaps that is the enduring strength of Kerala Travel Mart.
Kerala does not have to choose between its heritage and its future. Its challenge—and its opportunity—is to allow the two to enrich each other. As KTM 2026 moved towards its concluding day, the real measure of the mart lay beyond the exhibition halls: in the business relationships formed, the destinations newly discovered, the itineraries being imagined and the conversations that would continue long after the last meeting ended.
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